“She’s been through a lot,” he defended, rationalizing her behavior. The exact opposite of what I wanted to hear.
“And so have I!” I hurled back, shoving at his chest. I no longer wanted him to be so close.
He barely budged and didn’t take a hint. Lifting a hand, he brushed the back of his knuckles over the side of my cheek. His fingers were gentle, careful to avoid any bruises or scratches that still lingered on my skin from the explosion yesterday. “I know. This isn’t a competition of who’s been fucked over more.”
I jerked my head to the side, away from his hand. “I never claimed it was.” I shook my head, unable to believe that Brock and I were bickering about Kenna. “Whatever. I have to go to work.” I moved toward the bathroom but only made it three steps before Brock’s hands wrapped around my waist, spinning me to face him.
His eyes were darker now in a way most people would find alarming, and yet, a thrill raced through me. “You’re not going back there, Firefly. I forbid it.”
I poked my finger into his chest, not caring how sexy he looked ordering me about. “No one, not even you, can forbid me from doing anything.” This time, when I stepped out of his embrace, he didn’t stop me. I rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me.
At this rate, I would be late on my second day of work and probably get fired, assuming I wasn’t already after last night.
I didn’t even know what I would say to Zeke and Ray. I was part of the reason a car had caught fire in their parking lot. If the fire had spread and damaged their building… I don’t think I would have been able to face either of them again. Lazy Ray’s was their livelihood.
Behind the closed door, I flung the shower water on and swiftly stripped out of my clothes, waiting a few seconds for the water to warm up before stepping inside. My sore muscles sang as the heat from the water and steam hit them. It was nothing like the injuries I’d suffered from Ava, Izzy, and Emily, and I probably would be suffering more if it weren’t for Brock. If he hadn’t reacted as quickly as he did, shielding me with his body, the explosion itself would have knocked me carelessly to the ground.
He had protected me as he always did, which was why my chest was so tight right now. Having Brock doubt me cut like a knife, and if I kept dwelling on those feelings that wavered between hurt and anger, I’d sink into the shower, curl into a ball, and cry.
I did not need puffy eyes before work.
I refused to shed a single fucking tear.
Stiffening my chin and lips, I turned my focus elsewhere, reaching for the shampoo and lathering it into my hair. The bathroom door opened, and I cursed myself for not flipping the lock. “I’m not interested in getting naked with you,” I said, dipping my hair back into the spray of water and rinsing out the bubbles of shampoo that made the room smell like apples.
“Fine,” his gruff response came from the other side of the tiled wall. My adjoined bathroom had a separate walk-in shower with a full wall for privacy, so I couldn’t see him without poking my head around the corner. Not that I had to, because a moment later, he stepped into the shower fully clothed.
“Brock,” I shrieked. “What the hell are you doing?”
He flattened both his hands on either side of me against the wall, water soaking his white T-shirt and jeans. “Making it very clear that our conversation is far from over.”
I rolled my eyes. “You couldn’t have just waited for me to finish.”
“And miss the opportunity to see you like this?” His eyes glided down my body, which instantly betrayed me and responded to the way he looked at me.
“Liana and Chandler—”
“Are not home,” he finished, moving forward so the length of his hard body fit against mine. The cotton material rubbed against my breasts.
“You’re going to make me late,” I stated, trying a different route to get Brock to let me go before I caved and gave in to the urge to take his mouth with mine. My eyes couldn’t seem to stop staring at his lips. “We can argue all you want when I get home tonight if it makes you happy.”
“I don’t want to fight with you, Firefly, unless it means we get to make up later.” The pad of his thumb ran over my bottom lip, catching droplets of water.
I snorted. “Don’t hold your breath, Taylor.”
He hooked a finger under my chin and tilted my face back. I let my eyes shift upward to meet his, water running down the sides of my arms and legs. “I don’t like this. You working there… it gives me a bad feeling,” he said.
“I need this,” I emphasized, letting him see what this job meant to me. It made me vulnerable, and only for Brock would I expose myself like this.
He held my gaze with such intensity, and I swore he stared into my soul. It made me wonder what he saw when he looked at me like this. After a moment, a bit of the stress tightening his face loosened, and he sighed. “I can see that. I won’t stand in your way.” He took a step back, giving me room to move.
I turned so the shower spray hit my back. “But…,” I added, because I could sense there was something else he wanted to say. Brock rarely ever relented on anything.
“But I need to know that you are safe.”
Water ran down my back, and I reached for the conditioner, remembering I was on a time constraint. “And how do you propose we do that? You already have someone tailing me everywhere I go. Isn’t that enough?”
He took the bottle from me, squeezing a glob of conditioner into his hand. “Yesterday, I would have been satisfied with a security detail. Today, nothing seems like it will be enough. I don’t know, but for tonight, I’ll come to work with you,” he stated, working the silky goop into my hair.